this is the result if you throw plastic waste into the sea! Not only can damage marine ecosystems, but can also damage marine animal life as well

Plastic waste in the ocean not only destroys the beauty of the sea, but also greatly impacts the balance of the ecosystem. Including hermit crabs. Hermit crab or hermit crab becomes part of the sea.

Known as marine scavengers, this little animal is apparently very affected by the presence of plastic waste in the ocean. Citing CNET, a recent study was published by the Marine Pollution Bulletin. Plastic waste generally has an additive called oleamide.

Oleamide itself has similarities to oleic acid, a chemical released by arthropods during decomposition or putrefaction. Because of their similarities, these additives confuse hermit crabs.

"As scavengers, hermit crabs may incorrectly identify oleamide as a food source," said Paula Schirmer, a doctoral candidate at the UK's University of Hull.

It is thought that the hermit crab will eat plastic that has oleamide. In fact, oleamide is known as a sex pheromone for cleaning shrimp. If ingested by humans, the effect is different, namely being sleepy. This is evidenced by collecting 40 crabs offshore in Yorkshire, England.

The researchers measured their breathing after injecting oleamide into their marine habitat. These additives seem to affect hermit crabs in nagigation. Hermit crabs will immediately look for oleamide as soon as they smell this additive.

In low concentrations alone, hermit crabs can become horny. Imagine, there are at least 8 million tons of plastic waste that ends up in the ocean every year. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, now 80 percent of the ocean is filled with garbage, starting from the surface to marine sediments filled with garbage.